Definition: Lector

a person
commissioned
to proclaim
Holy Scriptures
in church services;

someone personally and

prayerfully involved
in proclaiming
the Word of God with the
purpose of celebrating
and refreshing the faith
of the assembly;

Definition: Lector

one who combines

strong personal faith,
good
communication skills
and spiritual inspiration
to cause the assembly
to listen to what is
being proclaimed;

a church minister who

brings life and flesh
to the Word of God .

Why are you here?

He called and you answered,
Here I am, Lord!
You realized _ The harvest is
abundant, but the laborers are few.
You would like to fall more deeply in
love with God and His Word in
Scripture
Your parish needs you to take on a
more active role in the church
community

Why are you here?

You were a lector at your former
parish and would like to continue
serving
You believe you can do a better
job than those youve already
seen and heard
One of the lectors has inspired
you to want to do the same thing
they do
Youve got this nagging feeling
in your gut that youve got to.

Why are you here?

Inspired by the

Parable of the Talents

(Matthew 25:14-30) _
God blessed you with
a good speaking voice _
to whom much is given
much is expected

Christ is present in His Word

since it is He Himself who speaks
when the Holy Scriptures are
read
in the Church.
From Second Vatican Council In
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #7

Three (3) areas in

preparing to be
more effective proclaimers
of the Scriptures:

 Sensitivity to the personal

meaning and significance
of the specific Scriptural
passage being proclaimed.

How?

By in-depth
knowledge/understanding
of the Scriptures,

on-going Bible reflection,

religious education, etc.

2nd area in preparing

to be more effective
proclaimers of the
Scriptures:
Conviction that God is using
the lectors skills, knowledge
and example of Christian
living
to
reach others who most need
to hear Gods Word at the
moment
it is
proclaimed.

3rd area

in preparing

to be more effective
proclaimers of the
Scriptures:
Use of proclamation
skills/techniques to bring life
to the Word of God _ emotional
expression, changing pitch,
pausing, pacing & energy,
distinguishing between
statements and questions,
empathy, eye contact, etc.

Bringing Gods
Word to Life

Bringing Gods
Word to Life
Text Work
Voice Work
Eye Contact /
Posture
Inflection
Intention
Emotion

Text Work: Style

Narrative: Change inflection to

differentiate speakers
Didactic (ex. St. Pauls writings)
Exhortatory (needs much more
energy to manifest types of
emotion)
~ Strong, heightened language,
often with exclamation points
in the translation;
~ Direct address to the people
or to God.

Text Work:
Literary Devices
Parallel contruction
Paradox
Hebrew (thought)
rhyme

Text Work: Take time to

reflect the meaning of
what you are reading
What is the authors intent?
What are the circumstances
surrounding the situation
described or inferred in the
passage?
Communicate the meaning
of the reading
Context: Scriptural,
Liturgical, Lectionary

Voice Work
Volume Blowing them
away with loud volume is
not the answer nor is
hoping theyll listen by
speaking softly
~ Vocal energy
~ Link to eye contact
~ Vary soft and loud
AS NEEDED

Voice Work
Tempo/Pacing
Speaking too quickly
deprives the listeners
of valuable time to
process the meaning
of the words/phrases

Voice Work
Rhythm /Stressing for
meaning
Pausing processing
moments in order to
add a dimension to the
meaning of what is
being said.

Eye Contact /
Posture

Eye Contact
Posture

Inflection
Use all parts of your
voice range to convey
emotion
Avoid the dying
inflection
Use commas as up
arrows

Intention
What is the authors intent?
What are the circumstances
surrounding the situation
described or inferred in the
passage?

What is the authors tone?

Is it argumentative? Advising?
Angry? Joyful? Threatening?

Emotion
The use of emotion
MUST NOT be confused
with DRAMATICS
Delivery must be a
natural expression from
the heart with an even
modulated voice but not
monotone nor
melodramatic

PERMISSION GRANTED
Please attend Holy Mass and
pray the Holy Rosary before
you use these slides for the
Holy Intentions of our
beloved Pope and for world
peace. Thank you and God
bless us all.
Thank you
Kathy
rookiekay@hotmail.com